December 3, 2002: part one
African chop and toss and natasha logs
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Fearless Leader: close your cam windows and open them up again
bonsaikathy: compress and roll over it, and then use the jiggle technique as NJ calls it, welcome back fearless leader
Fearless Leader: Hey, I loose my cursor and then I got to reboot
Fearless Leader: Ah
bonsaikathy: NJ will you show Jessica the jiggle technique please
Fearless Leader: there...now I feel better with my own font and color
purityfailed: thanks kathy.
Fearless Leader: ok dokie
Fearless Leader: when you cut just once and match up the mirror image you can stop there and you have a pendant
Fearless Leader: if you started out with a half round cane you will get a round pendant with a mirror image
Fearless Leader: nifty
Fearless Leader: but we're going to slice twice more and I'll show you the seam jiggling trick
bonsaikathy: welcome Jessica
purityfailed:
bonsaikathy: looks like tigger
purityfailed: it does.
bonsaikathy: that is too neat
Fearless Leader: so now we have two mirror images and let's match up the seams, just like closing a zipper
purityfailed: even eyes.
bonsaikathy: Would match Mitch's shirt she was wearing today lol
Fearless Leader: there's a faint seam
Fearless Leader: and to get rid of it
Fearless Leader: press on the seam with your finger tip
Fearless Leader: and jiggle it, in tiny tight little circles. You will make the polymer clay merge with warmth and pressure
Fearless Leader: like that
Fearless Leader: the seams will disappear
purityfailed: so basically, you don't have to worry about smearing the color since it'll be the same color on both sides.... ahhhh.
Fearless Leader: clay doesn't smear
Fearless Leader: if you don't drag the surface
Fearless Leader: we're pressing on it
Fearless Leader: jiggling it
purityfailed: oooooh.
purityfailed: i get it.
Fearless Leader: not taking it anywhere
Fearless Leader: coolness, now I'll zip the other side and give it a jiggle now
Fearless Leader: now we take those two sides and put them together back to back
Fearless Leader: so all the outside corners are now in the center
Fearless Leader: and we have four mirror images when we're done
Fearless Leader: now we're always going to get the last seam all uneven like this
bonsaikathy: She makes this look to easy doesn't she
Fearless Leader: no one is perfect
purityfailed: oh it's sinful.
Fearless Leader: so mash it
bonsaikathy: I'm glad I'm not the only one
Fearless Leader: now you can see where you can cut
Fearless Leader: to keep different design elements together
Fearless Leader: with a log like this you can get 6 natasha beads
Fearless Leader: why put four seams together for one small bead?
Fearless Leader: that's a waste of time
Fearless Leader: this way we can prep these logs ahead of time
Fearless Leader: cut off some beads to match a particular task
bonsaikathy: I have a question NJ
Fearless Leader: sure honey
bonsaikathy: ok, could you take your skewer and put the four sides around it somehow since the hole is already there and then just cut around the skewer for each bead
Fearless Leader: one could
bonsaikathy: just curious
Fearless Leader: I use the turkey skewer for the smaller ones, but remember we can do rectangle natasha beads too
bonsaikathy: would save you having to put a hole in afterward is what I was thinking
Fearless Leader: let me get some from the kitchen
bonsaikathy: ok
bonsaikathy: still there Jessica and Nancy
purityfailed: would there be a bigger seam problem or undesirable distortion that way?
purityfailed: i'm here.
purityfailed: just fascinated
techi_mom56: yup...watching and learning and petting a cat
bonsaikathy: that's what I was wondering
bonsaikathy: that is so neat, I love the colors in that
Fearless Leader: big
bonsaikathy: by the way, thanks for the skewer idea NJ, worked great for drying my pens
Fearless Leader: small
bonsaikathy: after future finishing them
bonsaikathy: I just love your small natasha beads, they are beautiful
Fearless Leader: by doing the log
Fearless Leader: you can make small natasha beads easier
Fearless Leader: than matching those seams on itty bitty bits
Fearless Leader: which will make us crazier than we already are
Fearless Leader: LOL
bonsaikathy: for sure
purityfailed: none of our so's want that.
Fearless Leader: let me show Jessica something, since she's so new
bonsaikathy: she and I are fascinated
purityfailed: uh huh
purityfailed: those bags look pretty in the blur. lol
bonsaikathy: if I didn't already have tickets to the show I'd stay home, Bill the marketing guy would shoot me though, he gives them to me for free
bonsaikathy: look at those colors
bonsaikathy: WOW
purityfailed: wow
purityfailed: THAT is one hunk of clay
bonsaikathy: sure is
purityfailed: i love that orange back there
purityfailed: in teh middle
purityfailed: ya
purityfailed: waht a nice green
Fearless Leader: I took three years of cane ends and scraps
Fearless Leader: and chopped them up
bonsaikathy: she held that up and it just gave me the neatest idea
Fearless Leader: after matching them ..more or less
Fearless Leader: that's how they start out
bonsaikathy: I'll have to give it a go when I get time and see if it would work or not
Fearless Leader: bits of this and that
purityfailed: that's a whole lot of "waste" clay that we could have missed out on.
Fearless Leader: yup
Fearless Leader: that's why I keep on harping on there is no garbage clay
purityfailed: good point... and driven home after seeing how beautiful it can be
bonsaikathy: After seeing your first chop and toss bead, I became addicted to chop and toss
bonsaikathy: now I do it all the time
Fearless Leader: Hey it's just the best
Fearless Leader: now if we took GOOD cane
purityfailed: that little block on the green reminds me of stonehenge.
Fearless Leader: not our scraps,
Fearless Leader: not our trims
Fearless Leader: but deliberately chopped up the best cane we can make
Fearless Leader: then
Fearless Leader: our beads
Fearless Leader: will knock folks out
Fearless Leader: cold
bonsaikathy: that's funny Jessica, when she held it up I could almost see a landscape
purityfailed: yeah.
purityfailed: no kidding, nj
purityfailed: oh my
bonsaikathy: ohh I love that one
Fearless Leader: let's chop the crap out of these then, eh?\
purityfailed: lol
bonsaikathy: the colors are tooooo yummy
bonsaikathy: wait
Fearless Leader: never be afraid to chop good cane
Fearless Leader: separates the sheep from the goats
Fearless Leader: wait...ok, got to change the video anyway
bonsaikathy: you should take a slice of that first, a thin slice
bonsaikathy: it's gorgeous
purityfailed: so was that.
purityfailed: lol
bonsaikathy: hehe
Fearless Leader: Oh the basket weave is so easy
Fearless Leader: it deserves to be chopped up, so let's do it
Fearless Leader: got to get over THE FEAR of chopping good cane
techi_mom56: it is and fun!!!!!
purityfailed: i'm gonna cringe
purityfailed: eek
techi_mom56: chop is fun too..especially if you mad at someone....
purityfailed: i could imagine. hehe
bonsaikathy:
Fearless Leader: funky zebra
purityfailed: oh i love that one
bonsaikathy: I always love everything she does
purityfailed: looks like beach pebbles like that.
Fearless Leader: funky leopard
Fearless Leader: oh leopard cut lengthwise is good wood grain in a pinch
techi_mom56: brb
bonsaikathy: works for me
purityfailed: ground beef
Fearless Leader: ok so we have metal colors from that basket weave, gold, silver, copper, pearl
Fearless Leader: we have leopard for warm animal color
Fearless Leader: we have zebra for cool animal color
Fearless Leader: so we need something flowery
Fearless Leader: something bright
Fearless Leader: remember that red and yellow bit?
purityfailed: yay
Fearless Leader: let's toss some of that in and call this Dawn over Africa
faye_shelton joined the room
Fearless Leader: the sun is rising over the savannah
bonsaikathy: Hi Faye
Fearless Leader: Hey Faye
purityfailed: hey there faye
Fearless Leader: doing chop and toss honey
faye_shelton: Hi Nora. Been doing some of that myself today
Fearless Leader: so even though this yellow and orange bit is already chopped
Fearless Leader: we can chop this up again, no worries.
bonsaikathy: I'll be able to stick around long enough to see this and then gotta run
Fearless Leader: Oh that's great, Faye, ain't it addicting?
Fearless Leader: See ya Kathy, have a good time
Fearless Leader: oh I thought you were leaving out now
faye_shelton: yes, it is. Love Natasha beading
Fearless Leader: I'll move fast on this then
Fearless Leader: some green for leaves and such all would be good too
Fearless Leader: done ahead of time with the help of the food processor
Fearless Leader: now let's mix: leopard, zebra, metal colors, sun rise and leaves, ok?
Fearless Leader: and toss
purityfailed: oh my
bonsaikathy: beautiful
purityfailed: now i understand the name
Fearless Leader: needs some red I think
bonsaikathy: See ya everyone, big hugs
purityfailed: bye
faye_shelton: bye, Kathy
Fearless Leader: ciao Kathy
bonsaikathy left the room
Fearless Leader: I have some red beads that I'm not all that thrilled about
Fearless Leader: so chop chop on them
purityfailed: question when you're done NJ
Fearless Leader: ask now honey
purityfailed: would chopping any colorful raw stuff work well for this?
Fearless Leader: I'm sifting out the larger bits
Fearless Leader: yup
purityfailed: k. thankee
Fearless Leader: chop anything and everything
purityfailed: smaller than better than, room?
Fearless Leader: sift the bits so the smaller stuff falls and set aside the stuff you'll either keep larger for larger beads or chop them smaller
purityfailed: k.
Fearless Leader: ok, so let's take a handful of this and compress it into a loaf
purityfailed: that looks like fun. heh
Fearless Leader: just compress the air out
Fearless Leader: don't pull it
Fearless Leader: or twist it
Fearless Leader: no matter what other tutorials tell you
faye_shelton: then make it square
purityfailed: wondering about that, faye. thanks
Fearless Leader: I roll the pin going towards the center
Fearless Leader: so I don't stretch it and cause the designs to turn into streaky lines
purityfailed: roll the end as well, faye?
faye_shelton: yes
purityfailed:
faye_shelton: big rectangle, sharp edges
Fearless Leader: now if we just do two slices and open them up like a book we have a pendant
purityfailed: ooooh
purityfailed: that is beautiful
purityfailed: stained glass
faye_shelton: nice mirror image
purityfailed: such fun
Fearless Leader: now that face in the center
Fearless Leader: looks like a lion
Fearless Leader: when we press this sheet
Fearless Leader: we can build up that lion's face from the back
Fearless Leader: with balls of clay
Fearless Leader: to make it three dimensional
Fearless Leader: now this loaf can make four logs
Fearless Leader: those four logs can make 4-6 natasha beads
Fearless Leader: so we can get two dozen beads out of this loaf if we want to
purityfailed: oh. that makes sense now
faye_shelton: cut in half and open out like a book,
faye_shelton: then cut each of those halves in half and open out like a book
purityfailed: this is great
faye_shelton: and line up the images on each half
Fearless Leader: if the sides are uneven, mash it
Fearless Leader: you're the boss at the clay table
purityfailed: was that a copy of what was done to the large log... the rolling i mean.
Fearless Leader: how's that?
Fearless Leader: Ah I understand the question
purityfailed: what was just done with the rolling pin. did you jsut even it out like you did with the original
Fearless Leader: when you roll the pin going from end to end
Fearless Leader: it could be uneven
faye_shelton: looks really nice stretched out
Fearless Leader: so roll it with the length of the roller down the length of the log
Fearless Leader: to even it out
purityfailed: ok. crystal now.
Fearless Leader: so we got 5 natasha beads out of that one log
faye_shelton: pinching the ends to shape
purityfailed: ooh. that's intimidating.
faye_shelton: not so easy when the clay hasn't rested
purityfailed: wouldn't think so.
purityfailed: does one cool/rest it before piercing, faye?
faye_shelton: take out the piercing tool and put on a skewer to cure
faye_shelton: I usually do
purityfailed: makes sense.
faye_shelton: I'm chicken
purityfailed:
purityfailed: now i know why she's the fearless leader. lol
faye_shelton: or you can cool them awhile in the fridge if you're in a hurry
purityfailed: does the fridge do anything to the clay chemically that could be harmful?
faye_shelton: no, it's fine
purityfailed: or is that o.t. hope not.
faye_shelton: nope
Fearless Leader: there's nothing OT when I'm claying on cam
Fearless Leader: when I'm explaining the technique then folks like to stay focused
faye_shelton:
Fearless Leader: but while my hands are working, nothing is OT
Fearless Leader: that's for control freaks
purityfailed: goodie
faye_shelton: nice string of beads!
purityfailed: i wonder if a totem pole could be made like that.
faye_shelton: Mirror images tend to produce a lot of faces, so I'd say its workable
purityfailed: that'd be fun
Fearless Leader: ok
Fearless Leader: now, let's review a couple of things
Fearless Leader: when I was doing this mix I stayed within a theme
Fearless Leader: that is one of my favorites, Africa
Fearless Leader: so Leopard, Zebra
Fearless Leader: and if I had Tiger I'd have used it
Fearless Leader: would be the foundation of an African mix
Fearless Leader: then we add metal clay of some sort, gold, silver, copper, pearl and some black
Fearless Leader: in this case it was done as a basket weave
Fearless Leader: then we need some bright colors, for flowers, and in this case for the sun rise
Fearless Leader: if we used night time colors of dark blue with white bits for stars we'd have a different look
Fearless Leader: adding in some rfeally bright colors harkens to Kente cloth weavings
Fearless Leader: and the natural dyes used in clothing amongst native people
Fearless Leader: then green bits
Fearless Leader: for grass, leaves and other flora
Fearless Leader: all these things remind me of Africa and will make beads, pendants and pins that will go with that basic black dress
Fearless Leader: the African mix will be popular year in and year out because
Fearless Leader: we are staying within the colors of the natural world, which doesn't go out of style
Fearless Leader: as opposed to tangerine orange and day glow lime green of the Peter Max sort of colors for fad clothing
Fearless Leader: ick
purityfailed: ditto
Fearless Leader: now a questions for you
Fearless Leader: y'all
Fearless Leader: what sort of cane designs and colors would you use for an Under The Sea mix?
Fearless Leader: while you ponder on that I'll cop a smoke'
purityfailed: i don't have much cane experience, so i'll think of some
colors.
Fearless Leader: but you know what colors are in the ocean
Fearless Leader: go there in your musings and what colors come to mind?
faye_shelton: aqua, coral, shell colors, metalics, pearls
purityfailed: dark rich blues, sand and peal, wishy washy light green blue
for the streams of light that come down
purityfailed: *pearl
faye_shelton: blues, greens
purityfailed: i'm thinking of the open ocean here.
Fearless Leader: red for coral
Fearless Leader: yellow for tropical fish
Fearless Leader: abalone colors, pearly irridescent
Fearless Leader: if you mixed those colors, having some design in the
canes
Fearless Leader: you'll have a mix that will harken to the sea
Fearless Leader: calling us like the Sirens did to Ulysses
Fearless Leader: this is theme building in the chop and toss
Fearless Leader: I'll get you the link
purityfailed: brb. gotta give the post-surgery pup a drink
Fearless Leader:
African-Mix-Grp.htm
Fearless Leader: that's an African Mix
Fearless Leader:
Biz-Archive/Chop/Beads/Index.htm
Fearless Leader: There's the bead page with all the tricks I reviewed
today
Fearless Leader:
More on Chop and Toss Theme Building
Fearless Leader: there's a ramble for chop and toss theme building
Fearless Leader: and it's now time for a break
faye_shelton: cool. I should go check on my grandbaby. she's ailing today
purityfailed: crud. links aren't working for me. i'll just save them for
later.
Fearless Leader: seems like my web host isn't happening
Fearless Leader: that's why I got a new webhost for my business site
Fearless Leader: ADDR sucks big time
purityfailed: seems like it
Fearless Leader: just lost the saved log
Fearless Leader: I was building our saved log pages as I went along
Fearless Leader: rats